After a campaign of black propaganda in the Philippines against GM critics,
including outright lies about what GM crops can do for farmers, from Monsanto's
PR proxy CS Prakash and associates, and within 24 hrs of the announcement
of a $15-million USAID funded 'Center To Develop GM Crops' for the country,
there comes the surprising news...

***

Monsanto's Insect-Protected Corn Approved for Planting
in the Philippines

PRNewswire-FirstCall
Friday, December 06, 2002 04:58

Monsanto's Insect-Protected Corn Approved for Planting in the Philippines
ST. LOUIS, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Philippines' Department
of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry, the body that reviews the country's
applications for approval of plant biotechnology products, has given commercial
approval to YieldGard Corn Borer, an insect-protected corn developed by
Monsanto (NYSE: MON).

Filipino farmers will likely begin planting YieldGard Corn Borer corn
over the next few months.

"This decision is good news for Filipino growers who now have an opportunity
to share in the economic and environmental benefits of YieldGard Corn Borer
corn," said Juan Ferreira, Monsanto's country director for the Philippines.
"Where it's grown commercially, this product has a demonstrated ability
to improve both yields and quality of grain which, in turn, increases growers'
incomes."

This is the first biotech crop to be approved for commercial planting
in the Philippines, and is one of the first biotech food crops to be approved
for planting in Asia. Other approved biotech crops currently being
grown in Asia/Australia include Monsanto's Bollgard/Ingard insect-protected
cotton and Roundup Ready cotton.

Several other Asian countries including Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Australia
have reviewed the safety of a number biotech crops and granted import approvals.

"This approval in the Philippines demonstrates that both farmers and
government regulators recognize the safety and benefits of plant biotechnology,
which is why use of these technologies continues to expand throughout the
world," said Robb Fraley, Ph.D., chief technology officer of Monsanto.

"This acceptance is driven by the overwhelming benefits of biotechnology,
such as significant reduction in pesticide use." The recent approval
by the Philippines' Department of Agriculture was based in part on local
field trial results that demonstrated significant increases in yield and
a reduced need for insecticide applications, which will potentially increase
farmers' incomes.

"Ultimately, the adoption of technology like YieldGard Corn Borer corn
has the potential to improve the self-sufficiency of many Filipino farmers
and the Filipino agriculture industry," said Ferreira.

In addition to its commercial products, Monsanto shares its knowledge
and technologies on a non-commercial basis with public-sector partners
to benefit subsistence farmers and the environment in Asia and throughout
the world.

For example, Monsanto is participating in work to develop virus-resistant
papayas in the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia, and has
contributed to the international project to sequence the rice genome.

Monsanto Company is a leading provider of agricultural solutions to
growers worldwide. Monsanto's employees provide top-quality, cost-effective
and integrated approaches to help farmers improve their productivity and
produce better quality foods. For more information on Monsanto, see: www.monsanto.com
.